Mindful Monday: Embrace Your Inner Goddess – Strong, Open, and Beautiful
Have you ever found yourself seeking a posture that embodies more than just physical alignment – something that resonates deeply with your spirit, making you feel powerful yet also wonderfully open? It's a beautiful paradox, isn't it, to find strength and vulnerability in the very same moment.
I want to share a tip and an inspiration for living a mindful life that truly embodies this dual nature: the Goddess Pose (Utkata Konasana).
Here’s how to step into your inner deity with Goddess Pose:
Find Your Foundation: Start by taking your feet nice and wide, wider than hip-width apart. Turn your toes out to the side at about a 45-degree angle, allowing your knees to follow the direction of your toes as you bend them.
Root Down: Drop your hips down as if you're sliding your back along an imaginary wall. It's crucial in this pose that you're not hinging forward at the waist. You want to be straight up and down, keeping your torso erect as you bend your knees and go as low as you can comfortably.
Open Your Heart: Take your arms and open them out wide, bending your elbows so your hands are open and your elbows are reaching back. Imagine everything is trying to touch the wall behind you, truly opening your chest and shoulders.
Embrace the Feeling: Do it with a smile on your face and feel how that strength, that openness, and that majestic, goddess sensation feels in your body. This pose is about embodying power from the inside out.
Tips for Your Practice:
Listen to Your Body: You can, of course, move in your Goddess. Take a break, come up, and then lower back down. Make it feel good in your body.
Optimal Alignment: For stability and strength, make sure your feet are wide enough so that when you lower your hips, your knees are right over your ankles (not past your toes). You don't want your feet too close or too far apart; proper positioning will help you feel the most stable and strong.
Accessible to All: The beauty of Goddess Pose is its adaptability. Even if you practice this from a seated position in a chair, you can still experience that beautiful, majestic, and strong feeling of being a goddess.
